


The Cost Of Victory

by Paradoxal_Occurance



Category: Max Steel (TV 2013)
Genre: Angst, Funeral, Gen, Mourning, So much angst, alternate ending to The Final Countdown
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-04
Updated: 2020-11-04
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:15:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,572
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27377062
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Paradoxal_Occurance/pseuds/Paradoxal_Occurance
Summary: When Makino arrives to Earth, it’s up to Max and Steel to stop him.Only, they don’t find Jim on the Alphalink. Instead, they’re forced to resort to plan B.When you’re a superhero, and the world’s last, best hope, you’ve got to come to terms with the fact that you may not make it home.
Comments: 5
Kudos: 9





	The Cost Of Victory

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by a comment on another work of mine, Makino’s Gone (But There’s Nothing Left Behind)

Max braced himself and grunted, struggling to grapple with the titan Makino. They pushed against each other, Max sliding across the floor as he struggled against his opponent’s superior strength.   
“Give up, Max Steel! You cannot win! Even the great Mk’rah could not destroy me! And you-” the warlord grinned, dark and sadistic. He threw Max Steel across the room, into a wall. The hero groaned, and Makino was on him before he could recover. He drew back an arm, charged and crackling with energy. “-are nothing.”  
Makino’s fist came crashing down, making contact with the Steelsuit and releasing the torrent of crackling energy onto him. Max had no time to brace, no time to bring his arms up to protect himself. The duol let out twin cries of pain, so loud and horrible even those on the battlefield felt it deep in their stomachs.   
Makino released Max to the ground, relishing in his work. He took a step back, grinning maniacally, and spoke. “Like I said-” he turned around, putting his hands behind his back as he scoffed and walked away. “-You are nothing.”  
As Max and Steel’s vision was fading, as the darkness was overcoming them, seeing Makino scoff sent one final wave of determination through their body. The darkness retreated, and two beings became one. For so long, the duo had struggled to find a perfect sense of harmony, to work as one, but as the darkness retreated to the edge of their vision, those imbalances disappeared. They were no longer Maxwell McGrath, nor were they N’Baro Atksteel X377. They were something never seen before, more than they could ever be apart. They were in perfect harmony, both minds melded together in symbiosis.   
Pain fading away, they stood, eyes glowing white with power. Makino turned part way around, expecting the duo to be on the floor and struggling to reach him- not them standing tall and absolutely glowing with power. The ship shook with each step, and their armour ripped away, unable to come anywhere close to containing the raw power they were putting out.   
Makino’s jaw dropped, and he took a retreating step back. He hadn’t expected this. No, not in the slightest had he ever thought Max Steel could survive that onslaught. No matter, he killed Mk’rah, he will kill this one too.   
The tyrant collected himself, and began charging energy into his fist. He smirked and raised it. “This time, Max Steel, I will make sure you stay down.” He brought his fist down upon the hero, with all the force and power he could muster.   
But the fist was stopped short. Max Steel, practically vibrating against the force of the punch, was holding the fist back. They lifted their head, and glared at Makino, teeth clenched and snarling. “You won’t knock us down!” They screamed as they forced their energy into Makino, creating a vicious cycle of forcing and absorbing energy to hopefully cause an overload.   
Makino, once he realized this, tried to force himself away from Max Steel, only to find that the duo had him in a death grip. He struggled to break their hold, but to no avail. Makino could feel his own body reaching its limit as energy was violently thrown between them.  
Beginning to get desperate, Makino tried to increase his energy output, forcing the majority of it into the ship and air around them, so Max Steel could not use it to continue to force an overload. But it didn’t work. Working as one, Max and Steel pulled all of the excess energy into themselves, then onto Makino.  
“This isn’t possible! Nothing can generate this much energy! Not even your people!” Makino snarled, pushing against Max with both his energy and his physical form.  
Max pushed back, no longer struggling to fight a losing battle. His snarl turned into a grin, “Well, that’s the thing Makino,” Max said confidently, his energy pushing him up to float at eye level with Makino, while holding the tyrant’s fists to continue the energy transfer. “I’m not fully Tachonian.”   
“That’s right!” Exclaimed Steel, “His mother is human!”  
Makino’s eyes widened, shock and fear fighting for the dominant place. These emotions shone through to his face, and Max’s grin widened.   
“That’s right.” Max said, pushing Makino back.   
Max and Steel were now speaking for one another. Effortlessly, they finished each other’s thoughts, their words clear and concise. “While his hybrid nature does make him unstable,”   
“That instability makes us stronger!”   
“Unlike Mk’rah, Max’s energy has no ‘shut off valve’.”  
“I can’t stop it, and neither can you.” Max grit his teeth, and dug deeper into himself, pulling out every scrap of energy he had and forcing it into Makino. Makino tried to pull away, desperate to escape the assault. But it was futile. Realizing this, there was one thing left that Makino could do. He began to cycle the energy through him, just as Max Steel was so that they both overloaded.  
“If I go down-” Makino snarled, “-I’m taking you with me! You will not walk away from this fight!” Makino was confident, Max Steel was merely a child, surely he would hesitate to destroy himself as well? Even the slightest falter would give Makino the opportunity he required. But instead- what happened next shook him to the core.  
Laughing wildly, Max threw his head back. He stopped, looking Makino in the eyes and smirked.   
“We never intended to walk away.”

And then they overloaded.

Six weeks later…

Crowds filled the streets of every city around the world. All in black, many holding signs or flowers, others holding nothing at all. For once, the whole world mourned a single person.  
Around the world, speeches were given, varying in exact words, but all carried the same message.  
Max Steel was dead. He saved the Earth at the cost of his own life. He was a hero, and would be remembered for centuries.  
In the capital of every country, a giant statue stood in his honour. In almost every major city, an official memorial. And everywhere you looked, unofficial memorials, made by anyone and everyone, stood. Graffiti on walls, signs in windows, and small stickers everywhere you looked.   
Even some who Max Steel fought against mourned him in their own ways. Many found their respect for him grew- and even though they were actively on opposing sides, found that they had a strange fondness for the fallen hero. Their attacks never felt the same, without their witty banter, or the unique challenge they presented. Though others stepped up to fight the villains in their place, it was never the same. As a sign of their respect, many began to wear a small band on their arm, a strip of black, white, and bright turquoise. They were never acknowledged, but the fact that they were worn said enough. And the few Ultralinks who dared to ever show themselves, were met with hostility and violence from everyone they came across. Even the villains who once posed as potential allies shunned them at best, but at worst, and most often, they were destroyed or maimed, left to die slowly, or taken captive as experiments to live out the rest of their lives in misery.

~~~~~~~

While the world mourned its hero, the warriors, their beacon of hope and strength- a small group of people mourned the child behind the mask. The ones who knew his true identity- mother, uncle, and closest friends.  
“You all know why we’re here,” Began Forge Ferris, ever formal and emotionally constipated- tears welling in his eyes, and voice beginning to wobble- “Max Mcgrath was a great kid. He was kind, and never let fear stop him. . He loved to laugh, and spend time with his friends. Max was my nephew, and even though we didn’t always see eye-to-eye, I loved him like he was my own son.  
“And Steel, this is the second time we’ve lost him, but unfortunately, here is no hope of him returning this time. He loved to crack a joke, and he was the most protective thing I’ve ever seen. He loved Max as we did, and refused to leave his side, even at the cost of his own life.”  
His voice cracked, and the tears began to spill over. Unable to stop the tears now that the dam had broken, he stepped to the side, allowing Max’s mother to speak.  
“We all loved Max, and we all came to love Steel. When things looked bleak, like there was no hope, they would make us laugh, give a speech that gave us hope. Max and Steel carried far too heavy a burden for someone their age, but they refused to let anyone else take it.” she paused, wiping her tears onto a tissue.  
“Max may not have known about the War for long, and Steel may not have remembered anything about why we fought it, but they dedicated themselves to it, sacrificed everything for it, so we might have a future.” she took a deep, calming breath. The tears still flowed, but her voice was strong, and even.   
“Max and Steel may be gone, but they will live on- in our minds, and in our hearts.”   
She closed her eyes, then looked to the sky. “Long live our heroes, long live Max Steel.”

The group chorused those words, and from high in the stars, the duo smiled down on them.


End file.
